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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A study just published online by the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology suggests that marijuana may protect the brain from some of the damage caused by binge drinking.

The study, by researchers at the University of California San Diego, used a type of high-tech scan called diffusion tensor imaging to compare microscopic changes in brain white matter. The subjects were students aged 16-to-19, divided into three groups: binge drinkers (defined as having five or more drinks at one sitting for boys or four or more for girls), binge drinkers who also smoked marijuana, and a control group who had very little or no experience with either alcohol or drugs.

As expected, the binge-drinking-only group showed evidence of white matter damage in eight regions examined, as demonstrated by lower fractional anisotropy (FA) scores. But in a finding the researchers describe as "unexpected," the binge-drinking/marijuana group had lower FA scores than the controls in only three of eight regions, and in seven regions the binge-drinking/marijuana group had higher scores -- indicating less damage -- than the binge drinkers who did not use marijuana.

Brain white matter tracts were "more coherent in adolescents who binge drink and use marijuana than in adolescents who report only binge drinking," the researchers wrote. "It is possible that marijuana may have some neuroprotective properties in mitigating alcohol-related oxidative stress or excitotoxic cell death," as has already been shown in lab and animal studies.

"This study suggests that not only is marijuana safer than alcohol, it may actually protect against some of the damage that booze causes," said Steve Fox, Marijuana Policy Project director of state campaigns and co-author of the new book, "Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?" (which hit number 17 on the Amazon.com bestseller list). "It's far better for teens not to drink or smoke marijuana, but our nation's leaders send a dangerous message by defending laws that encourage the use of alcohol over marijuana."

Quote (omghacks2 @ Aug 21 2012 03:11pm)

I believe it, and approve of this message

Regardless of whatever people might say they are deluded by the fact that marijuana is illegal.
If they were born in a world where it was legal as alcohol, nobody would say anything about it.

Its hilarious how easy is to do an inception on peoples mind based on what you make them to believe its normal or not.
People rarely think for themselves.


But on topic, I also believe marijuana is good for MANY other things.
In fact I dont know of anything bad out of smoking pot (not exaggerating ofc) other than the fact that you get high and not very efficient when perfoming certain tasks, which if I had the power Id make it to be dealt with just like alcohol.
Legal but under certain circumstances.

Quote (dothe @ Aug 21 2012 04:14pm)

ppl don't condemn things that are legal?

and

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2009-12/muhc-caa121709.php

Quote (toyake @ Aug 21 2012 02:11pm)

http://www.mpp.org/media/press-releases/study-marijuana-may-protect.html


Discuss

Quote (bentherdonethat @ Aug 21 2012 11:49pm)

It may also cause schizophrenia. So you know, there are trade-offs.

Edit: Thought of a reason to explain why there was less brain damage in the people who both smoked and drank. You stop drinking when you go to smoke weed, so the "doesn't smoke" group likely drank more than the "does smoke" group. Sounds plausible to me and doesn't involve any "pot is a magic brain cure" conjecture.

Quote (lone500 @ Aug 21 2012 08:52pm)

your not smoking or drinking ALL the time so your theory doesnt sound very plausible to me. ill be drinking, smoking weed, smoking cigs, doing 5 more different drugs and im still out drinking most everyone lol.

Quote (bentherdonethat @ Aug 22 2012 02:13am)

Every study has its outliers